Perfumed Wine

I understand that most fundraising events are held where the sponsors want it, but sometime you just have to say no. Tonight the Playhouse Theatre annual fundraiser—The Vancouver International Wine Festival—had a Champagne tasting event in Holt Renfrew. It is a nice store with money to spend on a premier event and the thing is done nicely. The problem is, besides designer clothes, they also sell a lot of perfumes. Why would a winemaker want to have people taste their wine, much less Champagne, the most delicate of them all, in front of a perfume counter is beyond my comprehension. Piper-Heidsieck’s table is right next to three large open bottles of perfume which result in a funny conversation about how the wine smell so heavily of vanilla. The most ridiculous thing is as soon as you walked in, they tie a ribbon soaked in a new Gaultier perfume on the women’s wrist. Nothing destroys the olfactory sense than this black ribbon. Every time they raise their glass they inhale not the wine but heavy musky scent of the black ribbon. If I had any fondness for Jean-Paul’s product, this ribbon eradiated it completely. The reason this wine festival is so popular with both tasters and producer is its excellent combination of fun and seriousness. With more events like this, I would recommend that winemakers to not come. What a waste of wine. Otherwise, it was all lovely.